The aim of this study is to introduce a new theoretical framework for incorporating the effects of temperature fluctuations into current pavement design approaches by using the cumulative damage concept. Until now, the effective temperature (T_eff) concept, which can integrate the effects of seasonal or monthly temperature fluctuations within a given annual temperature into pavement design, has been utilised, in conjunction with the dynamic modulus (|E*) master curve to determine the representative modulus for an asphalt layer in pavement design. The effective temperature concept is then used to aid the prediction of an asphalt concrete pavement’s service life by assuming that the effective temperature is constant throughout a pavement design period (approximately 20–40 years). However, this assumption is not particularly valid in some countries such as Australia, where the effect of climate change can cause significant fluctuations in temperature during a given pavement design period. In this newly proposed framework, the current effective temperature concept is modified to obtain a so-called optimum effective temperature (T_OPT). From this, the effect of temperature fluctuations during a given design period can be taken into account by using statistically based methods. First, a pavement design scenario was established to demonstrate the new concept. Historical climate data from four study areas in Western Australia was taken and a 10 mm dense graded asphalt mix was used as the basis for pavement design inputs with local material properties and traffic data. Results indicated that optimum pavement design sections, determined according to the new framework considering temperature fluctuations, provided thinner and thicker pavement sections with the cumulative damages (D value) closer to 1 than those of the traditional design approach. The study outcome would result in a more reliable pavement life prediction, leading to saving in construction and maintenance costs.

本研究的目的是引入一个新的理论框架，通过使用累积损伤概念将温度波动的影响纳入当前的路面设计方法。迄今为止，有效温度 ( T _eff ) 概念已与动态模量 (| E*) 用于确定路面设计中沥青层的代表性模量的主曲线。然后，通过假设有效温度在整个路面设计期间（大约 20-40 年）是恒定的，有效温度概念用于帮助预测沥青混凝土路面的使用寿命。然而，这种假设在澳大利亚等一些国家并不特别有效，在这些国家，气候变化的影响会导致给定路面设计期间的温度显着波动。在这个新提出的框架中，修改了当前的有效温度概念以获得所谓的最佳有效温度（T _OPT）。由此，可以通过使用基于统计的方法来考虑给定设计期间温度波动的影响。首先，建立了路面设计方案来展示新概念。采集了西澳大利亚四个研究区的历史气候数据，并使用 10 毫米密级配沥青混合料作为路面设计输入的基础，并结合当地材料特性和交通数据。结果表明，根据考虑温度波动的新框架确定的最佳路面设计截面，提供了越来越厚的路面截面，累积损伤（D值）比传统设计方法更接近 1。研究结果将导致更可靠的路面寿命预测，从而节省建设和维护成本。